Innerpeffray Castle
Parish: Crieff
County: Perthshire
Grid reference: NN 90483 17865
Lat / long: 56.340496, -3.773261
Alternative names: Inner Peffray Castle
Inverpeffry Castle
Innerpeffray Castle is thought to have been built in the second half of the 15th century for John Drummond, the 1st Lord Drummond.
The earliest reference to a castle on the lands of Innerpeffray is from the late 13th century, when the estate was owned by the Earls of Strathearn. By the 15th century it was in the possession of the Mercer family, and in the 16th century it passed to the Drummonds.
Standing on the banks of the River Earn, when first built it was an L-plan tower house, with a square staircase in the re-entrant angle.
The ground floor level consists of four barrel-vaulted chambers - three in the main block, and a fourth in the wing which housed the kitchen. Several inverted keyhole-type loopholes can be seen.
Occupying most of the first floor in the main block is the great hall, with two smaller chambers to the south (one in the main block and one in the wing). Above this was a further storey, with yet another level on the top of the wing.
Originally there was a barmkin wall to the west of the castle, enclosing a small courtyard, with the gateway being attached to the north-west corner of the castle. A small part of the barmkin still survives in the form of a jamb and arch springing. Further courtyards and gardens are thought to have extended beyond this inner courtyard.
Around 1610 the castle underwent extensive renovations in the hands of James Drummond, the 1st Lord Madderty. The main change was the introduction of five large rectangular windows in the east wall of the great hall, which gave the castle a grander, less-defensive outlook. He presumably also added the crow-stepped gables.
Today the castle is a substantial ruin, standing to its full height, but with some localised collapses and no roof.
